With the Bothekoshi Valley impassable, the only open trade route with China now runs through the Korala Pass at an altitude of 4,650 metres. Beijing is pushing for major infrastructure projects there as well. Until now, Kathmandu has preserved the environment and identity of the plateau, a region some identify with the mythical Shangri-La.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur all down. Fears of recession (and bankruptcy) in the U.S.. The appreciation of the yen over the dollar raises fears for Japanese exports. Negative signals from China. Oil prices down by almost a dollar.
The inauguration of the celebrations by President Patil. Card. Varkey Vithayathil stresses the value of the saint for our time: to return to God and give value to suffering. A world without God leads to chaos and violence. Suffering is considered a curse.
Millions of refugees left with nothing and UN officials explain that militant organizations can take advantage of the poor. Aid urgently needed to avoid many deaths from hunger, cold and epidemics.
Christians and human rights groups marched and protested yesterday against discriminatory laws, demanding freedom and dignity for all, irrespective of religion.
Two sisters enticed to the capital to work and then sold as servants, forced to suffer beatings and violence. The police reject the report of one of the girls freed, unconcerned by human trafficking.
A sea of mud and water swept everything away in a flash. AsiaNews interview people who live in the area. Hundreds of deaths, thousands of refugees, the army works tirelessly to help displaced people and restore connections. Bodies of the European believed dead still missing.
A well know journalist and cartoonist has been missing for the past 200 days. Nothing has emerged about his fate since 24 January, and police is not saying what it knows. Prior to his disappearance, he had backed the opposition against outgoing President Rajapaksa.
An importance conference is held in Colombo, bringing together bishops, priests and religious to discuss the difficulty situation in Sri Lanka’s northern and eastern regions. Participants call for dialogue to continue, urging the Church to avoid causing problems. They also remind the government that it is time to lift martial law, rein in the troops and restore civilian rule.
Sources tell AsiaNews that Taliban accusations against the medical volunteers killed two days ago are baseless. They fear they may be the harbinger for anti-Western escalation of violence.
Alone, the country cannot cope with the disaster. Prime Minister Gilani appeals to the world for help. Floodwaters continue downstream as the death toll rises. More and more villages find themselves under water, whilst the number of refugees without food and drinking goes up. People clash with police.
A trustee of the Centre for Legal Aid and Human Rights and People’s Empowerment, a Gujarat-based Catholic organisation, looks at the discrimination indigenous Indians suffer.
Prime Minister Cameron has ruled it out on his trip to India. But India will not give up. The mysterious and "fatal" story of a diamond found 5 thousand years ago, whose value is 2 ½ times higher than what the world consumes in a day.
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